It Was the Wine
by FloatyDucky
Summary: Sirius catches Remus watching him a look he hasn't seen in years. It's been too long, and he doesn't know why now, why today. All he knows is that he's glad for it. Pretty much pointless fluff, with a safe fade-to-black moment. Takes place during OotP. Oneshot, slash.


**A/N**: So uh. I really have no excuse for this. Except, I guess, that after being a Wolfstar shipper for a few years now, I decided I should contribute to Wolfstar fanfic with one of my own. It's sort of late night babbling, so it's kind of pointless, and it gets a bit sappy in places. I've never written anything like this before, so it may feel awkward.

Also, there's nothing explicit. The fade-to-black takes care of that. Sorry. No Tonks bashing, either, 'cause she's a badass, you know.

**Timeline:** OotP. A week after the kids leave for Hogwarts.

**Disclaimer**: The FloatyDucky does not own Harry Potter. All she owns are a few well read books and an old trivia game.

* * *

**It Was the Wine**

The stars were just starting to shine through the evening light when Sirius looked away from the window to catch Remus staring at him. His longtime friend was sitting on the arm chair by the fire, one hand holding an open book against his thigh, his other holding a half-eaten chocolate bar near his chin. Sirius laughed, knowing that the bar had been a gift from one of the other Order members, who all seemed to think that Remus had an endearing obsession with chocolate. And ever since he found the stack of various chocolate sweets Remus had hoarded away in one of the kitchen cupboards, he was beginning to think the same.

Remus had never shown such an obsession in their Hogwarts years, though.

He was about to ask when exactly Remus had become a chocoholic when he caught the hungry look in Remus' intently staring eyes.

Sirius lowered his feet where they'd been resting on the elegant wooden coffee table. They landed with a _thump_ against the plush carpeting.

There was no one else in Grimmauld Place. The kids were back at Hogwarts. All the adults, save for Sirius and Remus, had vacated the dreary house soon after dinner. (Kreacher was somewhere around, but he didn't matter.) There was no danger of anyone walking into the sitting room, where they would see the hunger in Remus' eyes and the excitement in Sirius'. There was no danger of anyone witnessing that look that Remus gave him, the one he hadn't seen in years, which was for him, and him _only._

Sirius didn't know why it was now, today, this very instant that Remus was giving him _that look_. Maybe it had been the single glass of wine Remus had drank when Tonks had offered it to him, or maybe it was the absolute emptiness of the house, or maybe that book was just too bloody _boring-_ whatever it was, Sirius was damn grateful for it.

He stood and crossed the room to stand before Remus. The dry humored man lifted his chin and met Sirius' eyes with his own.

"Remus," Sirius said. "Get up."

"Now?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. He patted the book. "I'm reading, Sirius."

"Oh, no. _You're_ the one giving me that bloody look-"

Remus had raised a finger to lick at it, maybe to clean it of melted chocolate, but more likely to be an absolute _arse_, and that was what did it.

Sirius grabbed Remus by his faded blue jumper and pulled him up. There were two _thumps_ of the book and bar hitting the floor, which neither man paid attention to, and a strangled gasp of "_Sirius-_" before the ex-convict brought his old friend into an almost violent and long overdue snog.

It had been too long. There was a release of tension that Sirius didn't know he'd been carrying-by now, it had been a part of him for so long that it had become normal. All the guilt, the anger, the hesitation. But it was all gone now, dropping from his chest and his shoulders like a dead weight, and as Remus sighed into what had now become a sensual kiss, burying a hand in Sirius' hair, Sirius felt a wave of fresh, sweet _relief._

Alongside a healthy helping of lust.

Remus murmured against his lips, reminding Sirius that they had to breathe if they wanted to keep this up. Sirius pulled away, licking once at Remus' bottom lip, and met his friend's eyes.

There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other. Remus was working hard at controlling his breathing, eyes flicking across Sirius' warm face. He reached up, touched his thumb tenderly to the corner of Sirius' eye, and swept away a wetness that Sirius hadn't noticed.

Sirius allowed himself a brief surge of shame before leaning in for another kiss, eyes shut.

Deepening the kiss, he began to push Remus back, hands gripping his friend's waist, aiming for the posh sofa that his mother had been so adamant about keeping his dirty shoes off of-

Remus pulled away and turned his face to avoid Sirius' pursuing lips. "Not here," he gasped, barely suppressing a whimper. Sirius had begun sucking at his neck in retaliation. "Someone could walk in-"

"They've all gone home," Sirius said. He bit gently, relishing the taste of the body he hadn't touched in years, and tried to push Remus down. He would taste every inch of Remus' bared skin _if Remus would only lie down._ "Remus-"

"Sirius-"

"Nobody's going to walk in, you wanker. Now lie down-"

There was an iron grip on his arm that cut his sentence off with little effort. Sirius met Remus' eyes, pouting, and ceased pushing at his friend's body.

"I would rather not take chances," Remus said, suddenly serious. Then he smiled and added, "Besides. That sofa is as far from being comfortable as possible. I'd like to be pain free tomorrow, thank you."

Hooking his thumbs into Remus' trousers, Sirius grinned and said, voice low, "I guarantee nothing."

"Be gentle. I'm not as, ah, spry as I used to be. Or as flexible." Remus rolled his shoulder as Sirius led him into the hall. "Or as nimble."

"I doubt that, Moony." Sirius said. He looked back at his friend, smiling at the pleasant surprise at the old nickname. "We'll just have to see and find out, yeah?"

They passed Sirius' old room and headed right into the room that Remus had been sleeping in since he came to Grimmauld Place. It was dark, save for the meager light that seeped in through the shut curtains, but neither of them had any trouble navigating their way to the bed. The room was sparsely furnished.

Before Remus could lie down, Sirius tugged his friend's wand from the pocket of his jumper. He flicked the wand once, twice, three times, using a magic simple enough that the wand allowed a stranger's touch. The single lantern by the door emitted a gentle light, and the two candles on the bedside table flickered to life.

Frowning, Remus tried to snatch his wand back. "Sirius. Turn those off."

"No." Sirius met Remus' glare with a stern gaze. He set the wand on the table and maneuvered Remus towards the bed. "Remus. I want to see you." He paused when they reached the mattress and cupped the back of Remus' head with a steady hand, holding his friend's gaze. "I haven't… I haven't seen you in too long."

Chewing at his bottom lip, Remus flicked his gaze to the candles. Before he could go off about being _old_ and other stupid excuses to keep Sirius' eyes from properly seeing his naked body, Sirius laughed, "Oh, come off it," and gave him a firm shove.

He landed with an "_Oof,"_ legs bent and spread and dangling off the edge of the bed, one arm stretched out for balance and the other bent at the elbow to keep him being completely flat on the mattress. His scowl melted away as Sirius climbed on after him.

They shifted about until nothing dangled over the edges. The bed was large enough to hold them both comfortably. Sirius bet that, after tonight, Remus would no longer complain about its size.

He straddled Remus' hips and tugged at Remus' jumper until the ex-professor finally allowed the bloody shapeless thing to come off. Then went the pale shirt, pulled hastily over Remus' head and mussing up his neat hair. Sirius tossed both off to the side, smirking at his friend's annoyed grunt, and then gripped Remus' wrists and held them to either side of the flushing face beneath him. Remus licked his lips and averted his eyes, suddenly nervous under the heated gaze that moved slowly over his body, over old scars and pale skin, where years had siphoned away his youth. He watched Sirius' hand flex around his wrist.

A soft kiss to the corner of his lips brought him about, eyes locking with Sirius'.

"Still the beautiful Moony I remember," Sirius murmured. He pressed his lips to Remus' shoulder, his neck, against his temple and tousled hair, before leaning into a deep, languid kiss.

* * *

There was no more light coming in through the break in the curtains. The candles were still flickering, far shorter than they'd been before, and the lantern burned as bright as ever.

Sirius sighed, more relaxed and content than he'd been in a very long time. He licked his lips, grinning at the taste that lingered there, and turned his head to admire the view.

Remus was stretched out on his back beside him, eyes closed, hair in disarray. His cheeks were still flushed, a pleasing color against his usual pale complexion. He was smiling.

"So. Moony." Sirius turned onto his side to watch him. "Does this mean we're back together again?"

Remus, who had originally just raised an eyebrow and hummed in acknowledgement, finally opened his eyes. He turned his head until his cheek was flush against the maroon pillow and gave Sirius a look that plainly said, _What sort of idiot are you?_

The corners of Sirius' mouth twitched. "I'm just wondering. Because the last time we did this was about... sixteen years ago."

His friend blinked at him. "Thank you, Sirius," he said, looking back up at the lit ceiling. "For reminding me exactly how old I am."

"Aw, Remus." Sirius slung an arm over Remus' waist and pulled him in closer, nuzzling his neck and breathing in his scent. "Cut it out with that. You're still a young man, you idiot. Compared to Mad Eye, and Dumbles, and old Minnie-"

Remus swung his arm lazily and smacked Sirius in the face. Sirius laughed and grabbed hold before the arm could drop, pressing a kiss into the crook of Remus' elbow.

"You're twisting my arm."

"Hmm. Shut up and accept my romantic gestures."

Remus snorted and twisted around to land a kiss on Sirius' lips, bringing his arm down to hug him closer.

"What brought this on, anyway?" Sirius asked, pulling away to watch Remus' eyes.

"What?"

"This. Why tonight? Why not a week ago, a month ago?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "A week ago, this building was filled with children. A month ago, we were still gathering members of the Order. Before that, we were still awkward in my home, after years of separation." He sighed and leaned back into the pillow. "You were still worried about Harry. We both were."

"…why not yesterday, then?"

"I was tired."

"Hm."

They both stared at the ceiling, silent.

"…also, I believe that glass of wine Tonks gave me earlier may have had something to do with it."

Sirius grinned.


End file.
